Waiter, there's a modem in my computer - benefits of modem usage - Workstyles - column

Home Office Computing, Feb, 1991 by Nick Sullivan

Do you own a modem? Yes. Do you use it? No. That was the most frequent response I heard at the various small-business seminars that HOME-OFFICE COMPUTING held recently. About half the attendees owned modems-but only a handful used them. Why is that? And why do I care?

I care because I think that people are turning away too quickly from one of the greatest business tools at their disposal. Business depends more and more on moving electronic information from point A to point B. To do so, business people are dependent on the computer and the phone; it's crazy not to join the two tools with the modem as a link.

A few years ago, when fax machines became the rage, people asked, "Why do I need a modem? Fax machines are so much easier!" At about the same time, they also started asking, "Who needs electronic mail? Voice mail is so much simpler!"

It's true that fax machines and voice mail are easier to use than modems. It's also true that you can duff your way around a golf course with a handful of clubs. But when you're in a sand trap you'd like to call on the trusty sand wedge, a tool designed for the job. Likewise, the modem is ideally suited for some tasks.

People can often communicate more efficiently with electronic mail than by phone or fax. Also, they can send files in computer form that arrive at their destination in minutes, rather than sending a disk by overnight mail. They can conduct instant on-line research, grabbing information from virtually any publication. They can get quick answers to computer or business questions from a pool of on-line experts and network with others in their field. But surely you've heard all this before.

From the informal surveys I've taken, modem owners who are not modem users fall into three groups. The first group of nonusers comprises people who haven't learned how to use the modem because it's too difficult and they don't see the benefits of overcoming the steep learning curve.

One way to succeed in communications without really trying is to sign up with a service such as Prodigy (for MS-DOS and Macintosh) or America Online (for Macintosh). Both services sell their own specialized software, which dials the phone and connects automatically.

It would be hard to use either of these services and not get some kind of instant gratification. Each offers an encyclopedia, news and sports, stock quotes, computer and business information, special-interest groups, product reviews, and e-mail.

People in the second group have mastered the modem, but they still think it's too much trouble to decipher the on-line world. One of the seminar attendees said, I tried to find information on CompuServe about laser disks but couldn't, so I gave up."

The ability to retrieve information from disparate sources is one of the modem's greatest assets. But the gentleman has a point: There's so much information out there, it's hard for a particular service to give easy directions to all users.

One good way to see the power of electronic research is to try DowQuest on Dow Jones News/Retrieval. (If you subscribe to MCI Mail, you can use DJN/R without subscribing to it; just type "Jones" at the command prompt.) DowQuest allows you to search back issues of more than 400 business-related newspapers, magazines, and journals by typing a plain-English query.

For instance, I just finished a search to find what the business press has written about telecommuting. I merely typed "Telecommuting" although I could have narrowed the search by typing "Telecommuting in Fortune 500 Computer Companies" or something else). I got a list of articles, some of which were more pertinent than others. I asked DowQuest to search its stacks again, using the title I liked best as a guide. DowQuest gave me another list of articles, all more narrowly focused on the topic. After 10 minutes on the service, I printed out two titles and signed off. Without knowing arcane research techniques, I got what I wanted and only spent $20.

Nonusers of the third kind are reformed modem users. They got hooked years ago and ran up huge bills. Thinking the results didn't justify the cost, they discontinued their subscriptions or let them lapse. The hard-core addicts-those, for instance, who spend $200 a month playing multiplayer games on CompuServe or GEnie-should probably retire their modems to a spot on the mantelpiece, next to sporting trophies.

But those who roamed the airwaves looking for something they never found (and consequently bumped their credit card bills into the red-alert zone) should know that the cost of operating a modem has declined significantly over the past few years. GEnie charges $4.95 a month for basic services, Prodigy $9.95 a month (if you sign up for a year), and America Online $5.95 a month (plus $5 an hour at night). CompuServe charges $6 an hour (nights and weekends) for 1200- and 2400-baud modems; it used to charge $6 an hour for 300-baud access ! For those who are wondering, I do not have any stock in Hayes or CompuServe. It's just painful to hear tale after tale of people who have bought modems and never used them or got their money's worth. The way I see it, anyone who has figured out how to use an MS-DOS computer can figure out the on-line world. Senior editor NICK SULLIVAN, author of Computer Power for Your Small Business, telecommutes from his home in Massachusetts. He can be reached on MCI Mail (ID:NSULLIVAN) or CompuServe (ID:76703,744).